# If ancient people ate modern food **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 20, 2018, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904 "2018-03-20T19:00:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/1 "2018-03-20T19:00:46Z")
The time travel discussions often mention that modern people can’t stomach ancient food, but what if a hypothetical time traveler from Ancient Rome or the Middle Ages came to modern society and were treated to things like a cheeseburger, Pepsi, pizza or the like? How would their digestive system react to it? It would no doubt be cleaner germ-wise or sanitation-wise than food from ancient times, but would it be too fatty, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/2 "2018-03-20T19:08:34Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > The time travel discussions often mention that modern people can’t stomach ancient food, but what if a hypothetical time traveler from Ancient Rome or the Middle Ages came to modern society and were treated to things like a cheeseburger, Pepsi, pizza or the like? How would their digestive system react to it? It would no doubt be cleaner germ-wise or sanitation-wise than food from ancient times, but would it be too fatty, etc.? Well, it depends on what they were used to. A change from a mostly vegetarian diet to one rich in meat can cause digestive issues for a bit. And yes, changing from a diet nearly 100% grain to one rich in fat could cause digestive issues also- but in bother cases they’d get over in in a week or so. Also , not every ancient culture used dairy products, so that may be a issue. Lactose intolerance is harder to get over. I dont know why we _can’t stomach ancient food_- I have eaten 100%authentic roman and medieval feasts/meals many times, with no issues. Some things tasted a bit odd to my modern palate, sure. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/3 "2018-03-20T19:10:29Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I dont know why we _can’t stomach ancient food_- I have eaten 100%authentic roman and medieval feasts/meals many times, with no issues. Some things tasted a bit odd to my modern palate, sure. From what I read, it was a germ and sanitation issue, not a grain or nutrition issue. Apparently people back then could stomach considerably germier or spoiled or gone-bad stuff than we can. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/4 "2018-03-20T19:15:33Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > From what I read, it was a germ and sanitation issue, not a grain or nutrition issue. Apparently people back then could stomach considerably germier or spoiled or gone-bad stuff than we can. Yeah, but they also had a life expectancy of about 35 years. So there’s that. I can’t imagine why we couldn’t eat what they did since we’ve continued to evolve from them. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/5 "2018-03-20T19:27:40Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > From what I read, it was a germ and sanitation issue, not a grain or nutrition issue. Apparently people back then could stomach considerably germier or spoiled or gone-bad stuff than we can. True, but by no means did everyone eat that way. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/6 "2018-03-20T20:48:45Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I have eaten 100%authentic roman and medieval feasts/meals many times, with no issues. Some things tasted a bit odd to my modern palate, sure. How do you know that they’re authentic? I thought that so many recipes from ancient and medieval times have been lost, even for what are thought to be very common things (like garum). And those recipes that are extant are never as detailed (with respect to portion sizes, cooking times and temperatures, etc.) as their modern counterparts. Besides this, selective breeding has come a long way in the past few hundred years. Animals are much meatier and fatter. Fruits and vegetables are much larger, and possibly sweeter, but may have lost the potency and variety of other flavours due to the focus on breeds that look good and preserve well in transport. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/7 "2018-03-20T20:51:40Z")
It’s not the short term stuff, but the long-term. When I read the thread title, I instantly thought of the scene in the movie **Never Cry Wolf** where the Inuit smiles at Tyler with his almost toothless mouth. “That’s what happens when a meat-eater becomes a sugar-eater,” he says. Refined sugar was extremely rare in ancient Rome, and actually used as a medicine. Its introduction a millennium and a half later into the British diet was said to be the cause of the English having “black teeth”. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/8 "2018-03-20T20:58:10Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > How do you know that they’re authentic? I thought that so many recipes from ancient and medieval times have been lost, even for what are thought to be very common things (like garum). And those recipes that are extant are never as detailed (with respect to portion sizes, cooking times and temperatures, etc.) as their modern counterparts. Besides this, selective breeding has come a long way in the past few hundred years. Animals are much meatier and fatter. Fruits and vegetables are much larger, and possibly sweeter, but may have lost the potency and variety of other flavours due to the focus on breeds that look good and preserve well in transport. Well, because they were researched, in some cases. with people who had PhDs in the issue? We do have a recipe for garum, and in fact you can buy it today on Amazon. Oddly it is _somewhat_ similar to Worcheshire sauce. > **[Garum sauce: ancient Rome's 'ketchup' becomes a modern-day secret ingredient](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/26/garum-sauce-colatura-di-alici-italy-fish)** > > Also known as colatura di alici, the centuries-old condiment of fermented and salted anchovies adds a sharp, savory flavor to simple pasta dishes ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/9 "2018-03-20T21:03:22Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > From what I read, it was a germ and sanitation issue, not a grain or nutrition issue. Apparently people back then could stomach considerably germier or spoiled or gone-bad stuff than we can. There are millions of modern people living in third world conditions who get by eating very germy expired food today as well, probably worse than what many ancients ate. You can watch youtube videos of families scavenging land fills for their daily calories. A fair number of them probably have related health issues, but going by the shear number of humans who pull it off it doesn’t look like something we are biologically no longer capable of. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/10 "2018-03-20T21:03:24Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It’s not the short term stuff, but the long-term. When I read the thread title, I instantly thought of the scene in the movie **Never Cry Wolf** where the Inuit smiles at Tyler with his almost toothless mouth. “That’s what happens when a meat-eater becomes a sugar-eater,” he says. Refined sugar was extremely rare in ancient Rome, and actually used as a medicine. Its introduction a millennium and a half later into the British diet was said to be the cause of the English having “black teeth”. Yep, that did cause a problem. Of course today we can hold that off by teaching proper tooth care. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/11 "2018-03-20T21:08:23Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Besides this, selective breeding has come a long way in the past few hundred years. Animals are much meatier and fatter. Fruits and vegetables are much larger, and possibly sweeter, but may have lost the potency and variety of other flavours due to the focus on breeds that look good and preserve well in transport. All those would make minor flavour changes, not the ability of my body to accept it. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/12 "2018-03-20T21:22:26Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > Yeah, but they also had a life expectancy of about 35 years. Wrong wrong wrong! The AVERAGE life expectancy was lower because of the much higher infant mortality rate. If you lived past infancy you were expected to live into older age much like we do now. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/13 "2018-03-20T21:33:33Z")
Health issues aside, they’d probably be appalled at how sweet everything is… we put sugar in damn near everything. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/14 "2018-03-20T21:42:46Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Wrong wrong wrong! The AVERAGE life expectancy was lower because of the much higher infant mortality rate. If you lived past infancy you were expected to live into older age much like we do now. Not so much. Yes, that is a large part of it, but living into their 80s’, common today, was rather rare. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/15 "2018-03-20T21:49:26Z")
If you go to Mexico City today and eat the food there, you’ll probably get sick because your body is not used to the microbes there. It’s not just that Mexico is poorer and dirtier. Go to France and you’ll probably get sick too, because things are different there. It’s a well known travel phenomenon. The reverse is also true, take someone from a farm in Cambodia and plop them down in America and they’ll get Montezuma’s Revenge too. So it will take a while to get used to the new diet, to get your intestinal flora re-balanced. And once that happens, you’ll be fine, or just as fine as anyone from one country who moves somewhere completely different. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/16 "2018-03-20T22:36:27Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Health issues aside, they’d probably be appalled at how sweet everything is… we put sugar in damn near everything. Probably not appalled. I think the reason sugar is in everything is because we find it the exact opposite of appalling 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2018, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/17 "2018-03-21T09:03:52Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Probably not appalled. I think the reason sugar is in everything is because we find it the exact opposite of appalling 🙂 I’m not so sure. Even today there are cultures where sweet foods are not as prevalent. Most Europeans and North Americans are surprised at the lack of sweetness of Japanese desserts and treats—they’re often savoury, and even when sweet, tend to have a lot less sugar than Western desserts and snacks. I imagine that Japanese people encountering Western treats for the first time might indeed be “appalled” at how sweet they are. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2018, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/18 "2018-03-21T11:18:57Z")
At the time of the Tudors in England, sugar was a luxury, so only wealthy people used it. Even later, skeletons of Civil War soldiers showed many health problems, but well-preserved teeth. > [@](#): > > Sugar was used for anything from dressing vegetables and preserving fruit to the concoction of medical remedies. But it was still an expensive ingredient, and like spices, it was mainly eaten by the rich. As a result, the wealthier you were, the more rotten your teeth were likely to be. > > [https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/01/18/tudor-england-the-teeth-of-the-rich-often-went-black-from-sugar-it-was-fashion-among-the-lower-classes-to-blacken-their-teeth-to-show-they-were-rich/](https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/01/18/tudor-england-the-teeth-of-the-rich-often-went-black-from-sugar-it-was-fashion-among-the-lower-classes-to-blacken-their-teeth-to-show-they-were-rich/) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/19 "2018-03-21T19:24:15Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > At the time of the Tudors in England, sugar was a luxury, so only wealthy people used it. Even later, skeletons of Civil War soldiers showed many health problems, but well-preserved teeth. But that forgets the issue with stone ground grain, which wore down the teeth of those who ate a lot of it. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2018, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904/20 "2018-03-21T19:33:36Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > How do you know that they’re authentic? I thought that so many recipes from ancient and medieval times have been lost, Yeah, we medieval cooks tend not to cook _food we don’t have recipes for_ > [@](#): > > even for what are thought to be very common things (like garum). We have both recipes for \*garum \* (in e.g. the _Geoponica_,) as well as excavation details for \*garum \*factories. > [@](#): > > And those recipes that are extant are never as detailed (with respect to portion sizes, cooking times and temperatures, etc.) as their modern counterparts. They \*can \*be quite comprehensive. > [@](#): > > Besides this, selective breeding has come a long way in the past few hundred years. Animals are much meatier and fatter. Fruits and vegetables are much larger, and possibly sweeter, but may have lost the potency and variety of other flavours due to the focus on breeds that look good and preserve well in transport. Heirloom varieties of veg like carrots and marrows are easy enough to come by, and with a lot of the others, they’re not the handful of veg&fruit we’ve spent so much time changing (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, apples etc)- stuff like parsnips, turnips, salad greens (_not_ iceberg lettuce) are not changed all \*that \*much, I’m guessing. I agree the animals we get are likely not exactly as lean (although I cook a lot of game), but IMO, not enough to make a difference, especially with the way a lot of medieval and Roman food is cooked (\*highly \*seasoned stews are common in both cuicines) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-ancient-people-ate-modern-food/810904.md?page=2)